43 Responses to “Collins' Campaign”

This simply proves he is not qualified to be governor. And I don’t want to see kudos for the fact that he immediately apologized (thank heavens he could get his DC political guru on the phone to figure that one out.) Words matter in politics. It is the currency of the business. To invoke ANY Hilter reference simply shows you aren’t really all that smart….to do so in comparison to an Orthodox Jew shows you are an insensitive moron.

To say that Collins is not “smart” or is a “moron” is stupid and moronic itself. To say that he is not a silver tongued politician would be a better description.

Having a MBA of Bull Shit is common for elected officials in NYS. While his comments were out of line and crass, they are in line with what A LOT of people think.

While these comments were in VERY POOR taste, anyone who with an ounce of common sense knows that that the Holocaust or an attack against Jews in NYS was not the intent. Collins compared Silver to both Hitler AND Napoleon.

For the record, George Bush was called the Antichrist SEVERAL times. This was of course allowed and did not raise any reaction from the left. Even the beloved Daily Kos ran with this in Jan of 2009.

So I guess the moral of the story is you can compare a politician to the Antichrist and not insult the Jewish population. However, if that politician is Jewish, it somehow changes the insult. Now that is moronic.

Should a elected official said this? No. Do hundreds of thousands of NYS residents feel Sheldon Silver is an evil man and see the comments from Collins as nothing to do with the Holocaust? Yes.

The question I have for Liberal folks is this. Would you feel the same way if a High-Traffic Blog published this joke?

If your answer is yes, where was the outrage when the Daily Kos claimed Bush was the Antichrist? If your answer is no, then I think this has more to do with politics than feeling insulted.

-please note the last line is just an opinion from someone who is not Jewish. I can not claim to know how a Jew feels but I am giving an honest opinion and am not trying to insult anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings.

At the end of the day, Collins is done on the state level. However, Sheldon Silver is an evil man and has done more harm than a 1,000 men IMO by his policies.

To say that Collins is not “smart” or is a “moron” is stupid and moronic itself. To say that he is not a silver tongued politician would be a better description.

Who said he wasn’t “smart” or that he was a “moron”? I sense some strawmen being set up here.

Having a MBA of Bull Shit is common for elected officials in NYS. While his comments were out of line and crass, they are in line with what A LOT of people think.

So, offensive anti-semitic comments are ok if “A LOT of people” think the same way? Even Collins isn’t defending his remarks. Why do you feel compelled to do so?

While these comments were in VERY POOR taste, anyone who with an ounce of common sense knows that that the Holocaust or an attack against Jews in NYS was not the intent. Collins compared Silver to both Hitler AND Napoleon.

Oh, well, in that case. It’s better because he didn’t just compare Silver to one territorial expansionist dictator, he compared Silver to two of them!

For the record, George Bush was called the Antichrist SEVERAL times. This was of course allowed and did not raise any reaction from the left. Even the beloved Daily Kos ran with this in Jan of 2009.

So I guess the moral of the story is you can compare a politician to the Antichrist and not insult the Jewish population. However, if that politician is Jewish, it somehow changes the insult. Now that is moronic.

I’d like a link to the Daily Kos article you allege referred to Bush as the antichrist. I suspect that, if it exists at all, it exists as part of someone’s diary. It would be like attacking me because some commenter of mine left an anti-semitic remark. That’s first of all. Second of all, calling someone who is Jewish the anti-Christ is acutely offensive for reasons having to do with the “Christ” part of “anti-Christ”.

Should a elected official said this? No. Do hundreds of thousands of NYS residents feel Sheldon Silver is an evil man and see the comments from Collins as nothing to do with the Holocaust? Yes.

Again, even Collins finds his comments to be indefensible. Why do you feel the need to defend them?

The question I have for Liberal folks is this. Would you feel the same way if a High-Traffic Blog published this joke?

If your answer is yes, where was the outrage when the Daily Kos claimed Bush was the Antichrist? If your answer is no, then I think this has more to do with politics than feeling insulted.

Again, I’m not personally insulted by this. More embarrassed that the County Executive of where I live would say something so fundamentally stupid about a Jewish politician. And yes, no matter the traffic of any blog, if someone posted an alleged “joke” comparing Sheldon Silver to the anti-Christ, Hitler, and don’t forget Napoleon, it would be as offensive and embarrassing.

-please note the last line is just an opinion from someone who is not Jewish. I can not claim to know how a Jew feels but I am giving an honest opinion and am not trying to insult anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings.

At the end of the day, Collins is done on the state level. However, Sheldon Silver is an evil man and has done more harm than a 1,000 men IMO by his policies.

Shorter lefty: I don’t like Shelly Silver, so I’m going to go ahead and defend the shit out of comments that Chris Collins made that even he won’t defend.

@ Lefty – please provide a link to the article written by Kos (not a comment on his site) that claimed Bush is the Antichrist. And what another pathetic attempt at (false) equivalence as if we should put an online political blog in the same sphere as the Erie County Executive.

” Second of all, calling someone who is Jewish the anti-Christ is acutely offensive for reasons having to do with the “Christ” part of “anti-Christ”.”

How do you figure that? Some PC trained reporters say so? How many people actually take religious dogma literally? Maybe, according to your comment in the other thread, you have more insight on what offends people in the NYC region, but I still think this is overblown “gotcha” reporting. And for the record, I’m not a Collins fan and I’m not defending him.

How do you figure that? Some PC trained reporters say so? How many people actually take religious dogma literally? Maybe, according to your comment in the other thread, you have more insight on what offends people in the NYC region, but I still think this is overblown “gotcha” reporting. And for the record, I’m not a Collins fan and I’m not defending him.

Well, I “figure that” because the concept of the anti-Christ specifically deals with people who reject Christ as the Messiah. That would include Jewish people. From what I understand, Jewish people are a bit sensitive about religious animus directed towards them. They’ve been persecuted since time immemorial. They were persecuted even in the Old Testament.

I wish there was tape of this, because seriously, if you say out loud, “Chris Collins called Sheldon Silver the third anti-Christ, after Napoleon and HItler” it sounds patently insane.

No, I do not believe Silver is = Hitler. Hitler is THE most evil person known to man. However, I do believe that Silver is evil, just a different level.

@BP – See I do not think the comments by Collins were anti-semitic. They were not anti-semitic when Bush was compared either. I think the anti-semitic aspect of this is political.

I am not sure about the differences between a “diary” and the main blog as I do not read the Kos. I just found it under a google search for “Bush + Antichrist”

Point being, comparing anyone to Hitler is just stupid. Another point is both Liberals and Conservatives have done it. I was simply making the point that lately, people only seem to get pissed at things when “the other party” says something or does something in poor taste. The comment was VERY MUCH in poor taste. Hell, there are a 1000 jokes that could be made about Silver.

I do not think ANYONE should feel that anti-semitic comments are ok. I just do not see these as anti-semitic. If Silver was Christian like Bush, would we be having the same conversation? When the variable is the person being insulted and not the Hitler comment itself, I see it as a double standard is all.

I am having trouble finding a comparison but here is my best shot to show you my line of thinking. Calling a black person the “N” word, to me personally, is just as bad as calling a white person the “N” word. To me, the word itself is bad and should not be used. To me, it does not make it better or worse depending on who you say it to.

Now I know some will say there are “degrees” of an insult. To a black person, this word is more insulting. But, to me, it is insulting regardless of who uses it or who it is used against. Degrees of wrong is something I do not bother with. I see calling someone an asshole just the same as calling someone a jerk. Maybe I am strange but I just see an insult as an insult.

Also, I am not defending his comments. Rather, I am commenting on the selective rage that people have towards this comment. Comparing people to the Antichrist or 3rd Antichrist is sadly common. It is not right regardless of who is saying it or who is being called it.

As a side note:
Selective rage is something that is all to common these days.

I am not going to go back and find the comments, but I would hope that you agree, there are a lot of anti-christian people on this blog who all of a sudden find outrage against a perceived anti-semitic comment. To me, perceived anti-semitic comments should be treated with the same rage as anti-christian comments.

Hatred of anyone based on their religious beliefs is a slippery slop and the reason why mankind has not progresses as much as it should have over the last 2000 years.

But in all honesty, I do not think his comments were anti-semitic. I think they were in VERY poor taste. I think that he will and should suffer from them. But, in my personal opinion, I think the comments are being used as political capitol from Democrats in NYS and by this is insulting to people of the Jewish faith.

Three things on that. #1: It says he’s an anti-Christ politician. Not the anti-Christ. The distinction is in the context of the entire post, which goes into excruciating detail about the ways in which Bush was not acting as a Christian, or as Christ would have wanted. #2: As I predicted, it was some obscure Kos diary. Not a front-page post. Now, I could go to Kos right now and write the most offensive and horrible thing about whatever ethnic group I wanted. That doesn’t mean that DailyKos all of a sudden thinks the same things. #3: I never saw that post before today. Now, if I had, I certainly could have done a post about it or posted a comment about it, as you could have, too. I don’t monitor the internet for obscure Kos diaries that offend me. What we’re discussing here is my County Executive specifically calling a Jewish politician the anti-Christ, comparing him with Napoleon and Hitler.

No, I do not believe Silver is = Hitler. Hitler is THE most evil person known to man. However, I do believe that Silver is evil, just a different level.

@BP – See I do not think the comments by Collins were anti-semitic. They were not anti-semitic when Bush was compared either. I think the anti-semitic aspect of this is political.

Well, since I read the diary about Bush you linked to, it wasn’t anti-Semitic because it didn’t talk about Jewish people. Also, Bush isn’t Jewish, AFAIK. Silver is, and the concept of an anti-Christ refers specifically to someone very evil who also happens to reject Christ as the Messiah.

Point being, comparing anyone to Hitler is just stupid. Another point is both Liberals and Conservatives have done it. I was simply making the point that lately, people only seem to get pissed at things when “the other party” says something or does something in poor taste. The comment was VERY MUCH in poor taste. Hell, there are a 1000 jokes that could be made about Silver.

Yes, it is stupid to compare anyone to Hitler. The first time I ever posted about Godwin’s Law on this blog, it was during the Bush Administration and reacting specifically to comparisons of him to Hitler. Just because you weren’t paying attention at that time, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I am having trouble finding a comparison but here is my best shot to show you my line of thinking. Calling a black person the “N” word, to me personally, is just as bad as calling a white person the “N” word. To me, the word itself is bad and should not be used. To me, it does not make it better or worse depending on who you say it to.

That word has been used historically for centuries specifically to demean and dehumanize black people. Since I’m not black, I can’t possibly comment on the offensive nature of that word to black versus white people. I agree that it’s offensive. As offensive as calling a Jewish person the anti-Christ or a Hitler.

Also, I am not defending his comments. Rather, I am commenting on the selective rage that people have towards this comment. Comparing people to the Antichrist or 3rd Antichrist is sadly common. It is not right regardless of who is saying it or who is being called it.

And the “selective outrage” has to do with the fact that my County Executive did just that two nights ago in reference to a Jewish political leader. Silver’s “evil” nature notwithstanding. I think he’s a horrible politician, but I’d never stoop to the levels Collins did.

But in all honesty, I do not think his comments were anti-semitic. I think they were in VERY poor taste. I think that he will and should suffer from them. But, in my personal opinion, I think the comments are being used as political capitol from Democrats in NYS and by this is insulting to people of the Jewish faith.

No, the insult was specifically to Silver and it specifically had to do with his religious beliefs. Whether Collins had that intent or not? He probably didn’t mean to be anti-Semitic. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t. If he had called a black politician a “cotton-picking” somethingorother, that would be pretty analogous, and equally offensive.

@ Lefty – I’ll repeat….please provide a link to an article written by Markos Moulitsas (aka Kos) calling President Bush the Antichrist. Not a comment and not a diary from the thousands of contributors to the site.

Besides, in the diary you linked to (and apparently didn’t read), the author used the title “Bush: Anti-Christ Politician” to reference how George Bush was packaged as a “born-again” Evangelical Christian to win the presidency and proceeded to betray Christians across the spectrum with his contempt for the rule of law, adoption of torture policies, waging an unjust war of aggression, etc. The author was saying that Bush ruled in a manner at direct contradiction with Christ’s teachings – i.e. an “Anti-Christ” politician. Not the Antichrist of Nostradamus’ predictions that Chris Collins felt a Speaker of the New York State Assembly was worthy of branding.

I think that your puzzlement over why calling a Jew the Antichrist is an anti-Semitic slur says more about you and your ignorance than anything else.

I stand by my stupid and moronic comments. People make verbal gaffes all the time. But this a progression of thought that led him to invoking Hitler and the Anti-Christ to a New York State politician. When some fire breathing pundit does this stuff, he or she is doing it to generate reaction and create buzz. Talking heads on both sides do that. But when a man who is beginning to make the rounds to show people he has what it takes to be Governor of New York State makes this bluinder, it proves he just isn’t ready for prime time and probably never will be. And I find it insulting that if you criticize the supposed new standard bearer for the GOP that you automatically must be a liberal. I’m hoping for a viable GOP candidate to run for Governor and win…..the problem is that Chris Collins clearly ain’t it.

I never said Markos Moulitsas wrote the post. I said it was on the Daily Kos you twit. The Daily Kos is a site. Markos Moulitsas is a person. The Daily Kos is one of many sites that represents the voice of the left.

Honestly, I see no value in debating hateful words with one of the most hateful people I have ever encountered online. You are the epitome of why I feel very little sorrow for any negative comments towards Liberals. You have solidified my assumptions that there are petty, hateful bastards in every party. It must really suck to have so much resentment inside. I kinda feel sorry for you.

We are simply not going to agree that the joke specifically had to do with his religious beliefs. The reason I do not feel it was, is the joke has been used to describe several politicians. Now, the joke has not been told by politicians but it still has been said.

Yes, you have the right to be upset that your CE said the joke. But my point is calling someone the “Antichrist” is a tired insult that has been used by EVERYONE.

People have the right to be upset that an elected official used VERY poor taste with these comments. But to trying to say that calling Silver the Antichrist is somehow worse than calling Bush, Huckabee or Palin the Antichrist is just a reach in my book. Sorry if you disagree.

It says he’s an anti-Christ politician. Not the anti-Christ.
Are you fucking shitting me Alan? Is that the same kind of logic that follows when The Dem’s proposed a 4% increase in education funding, and Bush said 2%, and Dems went screaming “BUSH CUTS EDUCATION BUDGET”

Only in the mind of a liberal is a increase not to their liking considered a cut. There is no hair finer to split than “Anti-Christ Politician” and Anti-Christ. BTW, my doctor thinks Obama is the Anti-Christ, and she’s not alone—so Shelly can sleep well.

@ lefty – “Honestly, I see no value in debating hateful words with one of the most hateful people I have ever encountered online.”

You need to get around more, son. And calling me a “twit” in the paragraph right before…is that some of the civil tone you employ on a regular basis?

While I will grant that I am occasionally hateful to racists, xenophobes, homophobes and other assorted assclowns representing the conservative side on this blog, I fail to see how I’m being hateful here

I asked you, in response to your false equivalence, to provide a link to a DailyKos article (i.e. one authored by the site’s creator or one of his designated editors) that called Bush an Antichrist. I could have gone all the way and asked you to name the time when Dennis Gorski called anyone an Antichrist, but that would have been overkill. You were the one raising the pathetic point about people calling Bush an Antichrist, which certainly happened, but not at the level of an Erie County Executive. Rather than acknowledge you made a mistake, or even admit that if it was wrong during the Bush years (which it was), it is certainly wrong now and outrageously wrong in this specific case, you’d rather point to (and not link to) what I’m assuming are obscure diaries on DailyKos and call me the meanest meany in the whole wide world.

You don’t have to feel sorry for me….I’m getting along just fine. I would suggest you use some of that energy to get a clue about the world around you.

Just to be clear, Humorist, the hateful side of you is that you do truly believe all conservatives are racist, xenophobe, homophobe assclowns. I have yet to understand how such free thinking liberals can have such narrow worldviews.

Why would I post a link to an article written by Markos Moulitsas when I never said one existed. You are tying to frame my OP in a context that I never said.

I simply did some google searching to find the use of “Anticrist” in relation to politicians. That post was one that came up. I provided other examples as well. I was not trying to give Collins a pass. I was just saying he should be lumped in with the rest of the tools who said such ignorant things.

My point and opinion was this insult has been used countless times by everyone in the political spectrum. It was and is in bad taste every time it was used. My point was just because Silver is Jewish does not make it any more significant. The reason I feel this way is I do not feel Collins said it BECAUSE Silver was Jewish. People are trying to take that point and run with it for political gain. Which to me is actually more insulting to those of the Jewish faith than the comment itself.

Also proving my point on the degrees of insults, I used the word “Twit” to describe you and in return you used the word “son” both terms have an insult behind them. The way you used the word “son” is just as insulting as the way I used the word “twit”, however, you do not see it this way. You seem to feel that using the word twit is somehow less civil than son. We both know the meanings of our insults. At least I can own up to my actions.

As for racists, xenophobes, homophobes and other assorted assclowns, I have better things to do with my life than to spew hate about these people. Spewing hate requires it. No need for that on my end little man.

I do feel sorry for you. You are a petty little person who really thinks too much about yourself, the worldly Western New Yorker. I think we should just agree to disagree and agree that we feel the same way about each other. Best of luck guy. Seriously, I hope you find a day where your happiness is not achieved by hatred.

@ Brian – I don’t believe that all conservatives are racists, xenophobes, homophobes, etc. Just the ones in charge of the GOP and in Congress and on the radio and attending the Teabag functions holding signs equating our President with Hitler and occupying the County Executive seat telling a room full of people that a Jewish politician is the Antichrist. That’s your party….welcome to it.

@ lefty – Oy, where to begin?

“Why would I post a link to an article written by Markos Moulitsas when I never said one existed. You are tying to frame my OP in a context that I never said…”

Here is what you said originally – “For the record, George Bush was called the Antichrist SEVERAL times. This was of course allowed and did not raise any reaction from the left. Even the beloved Daily Kos ran with this in Jan of 2009…” (emphasis mine). Now, when you say “ran with this,” do you mean that the site officially sanctioned calling George Bush an Antichrist, or did you just throw up an assertion with any proof until I called you on it and then ran over to Google to try to save your point? And believed you had won the day when you got a hit on a DailyKos diary (which Pundit explained previously is not the same as an article on the front page of the site) that had the words “Bush” and “antichrist” in them?

“I provided other examples as well….”

No, you didn’t. You provided exactly one link to a DailyKos diary that didn’t call George Bush an Antichrist. You haven’t provided any other links. But don’t bother, because even if you do, your point is still lost.

“I used the word “Twit’ to describe you and in return you used the word ‘son’ both terms have an insult behind them.”

Really? Somebody better tell Foghorn Leghorn.

“My point was just because Silver is Jewish does not make it any more significant…”

That is PRECISELY why it is significant and a universe away from when the insult was hurled at Bush. I don’t know what’s in Collins’ heart and I would like to believe that he didn’t intend to insult Silver with an ethnic slur. But applying the term “Antichrist” to a Jewish person is a time-honored tactic by anti-Semitic groups. Again, that you don’t know that says a lot about you.

Collins disappoints . Not because he stuck his foot in his mouth, but because he ressurects the Western NY politco red herring to blame Albany. Albany has issues, but at what point do Western New York politicians accept at least a modicum of responsibility for their problems.

The argument is moot. Collins would not beat Cuomo, at least in this election, even without the faux pas in question. Collins will not run in a race he does not expect to win. He will gain two seats in the legislature in November, continue moving things in a good direction and move toward higher office in Washington or Albany later. Deal with it or keep self-flagellating.

“Three things on that. #1: It says he’s an anti-Christ politician. Not the anti-Christ.”

If Collins had said Sheldon Silver is an “anti-Christ politician” would anyone’s reaction be any different? No.

I agree with Joe Genco that the whole Collins-for-Gov possibility was always moot, but one impact this will have is to remove Collins from consideration for Lt Gov. That would have been the sure-to-lose-in-Nov Lt Gov candidate unless Rudy is the Gov candidate. But in the remote chance that Rudy runs and wins, Collins due to his joke will have missed a real chance at being Lt Gov. It’s often said to be a useless job, but with Spitzer we see why people want it.

Collins has a real pattern of saying strange things. I don’t think it’s hurt his job performance as County Exec. He’s doing well at that for the most part. He’s better than Giambra, better than Keane would have been, and on issues better than the legislature majority.

If Collins had said Sheldon Silver is an “anti-Christ politician” would anyone’s reaction be any different? No.

Well, I’m not so sure that Shelly Silver promised his lower East Side constituency that he was a conservative evangelical Christian, and would lead that way. You’d have to read the Kos article that lefty linked to in order to see the context of the title that diarist used.

Starbuck: Collins won’t drive himself to a meeting because it would mean accepting a position of second in command. I don’t think he would have been interested in Lt. governor. He is too much of an alpha male.

I’m trying to put all of this PC outrage in perspective. If you are outraged please feel free to answer my question. If Collins were the most qualified and most effective politician, would you still not consider him for governor because of one bad joke?

Just curious if there is going to be any outrage on the accused actions of Michele Iannello/Dennis Ward in not wanting to use black canvassers.

I already know the difference that you live in Clarence and Iannello is not your “legislator” and the reports on Iannello are alleged bigotry….but I am still curious to see if we are going to have some selective outrage here.

Because there is a very clear he said/she said situation going on, I’m waiting to hear more. The allegation is that the campaign didn’t want black people canvassing in the Tonawandas, but also that there was some sort of breakdown in relations with the WFP. Iannello denies the charge of racism, and I’m waiting to hear back from them about it.

I would agree that this is very bad – both substantively and appearance-wise.

It’s also a cautionary tale about accepting the support of minor parties whose sole existence is thanks to electoral fusion. Play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

@mike in WNY: A person’s judgement regarding “jokes” of this kind is a key measure of whether someone is the most “qualified and effective.” The kind of pompous asshole who would say shit like Collins did is certainly not going to be effective at crafting laws and policies that require buy-in from diverse (ethnically, geographically, and ideologically) groups of people.

Your question falsely presupposes that there is some technocratic norm by which to objectively measure a politician’s quality.

Of course, in the arena of harmless jokes, the fact that TV actor Larry David pisses on a portrait of Christ in this week’s episode of “Curb your enthusiasm” (after which the duped Catholic homeowners believe that Jesus is miraculously crying, and fall to their knees in prayer) will undoubtedly bring out the Officer Barbrady in various pundits and commentators–“Nothing to see here, folks.”

BP proves he’s a Godless fucking heathen with that last remark. Don’t believe in God, or organized religion, for the present it’s still a free country—It’s your soul in the end, friend. But fear not,
Odumbo is working on getting rid of that “Free Country” idea too.
Could you
try to give courtesy to the fact that other people may not want to see a fuckstick Godless heathen bucket of dung piss on a picture of the man others consider the Son of God?

BP proves he’s a Godless fucking heathen with that last remark. Don’t believe in God, or organized religion, for the present it’s still a free country—It’s your soul in the end, friend. But fear not, Odumbo is working on getting rid of that “Free Country” idea too.

Could you try to give courtesy to the fact that other people may not want to see a fuckstick Godless heathen bucket of dung piss on a picture of the man others consider the Son of God?

Seriously, Hank what the fuck are you talking about? Ward says Larry David pissed on a picture of Jesus in his comedy show. It was a completely ridiculous non-sequitur comment having nothing to do with anything, because this post is about politicians giving speeches in front of the Republican fucking Party bigshots at the Adams Mark, where he compares a Jewish Assemblyman to fucking Hitler.

My comment was mocking Ward’s because of the fact that it has nothing to do with anything.

And, of course, if you don’t want to “see a fuckstick Godless heathen bucket of dung piss on a picture of the man others consider the Son of God” then (1) Stop watching “Curb your Enthusiasm”; (2) cancel your HBO subscription, and (3) don’t vote for Larry David when he runs for office. In that order.

Collins made a lame, really poor taste religious reference, which brought the Wrath of God (sorry, Humanist) down upon him.
Larry David pissed on a religious picture with the direct intent of mocking all practitioners of a certain faith, which drew nary a raised eyebrow from the chattering class.
The difference (other than the party enrollment of the perpetrators) is that Collins’s crime lay in giving his opponents (including Pundit) red meat for a political campaign. Any injury claimed by Sheldon Silver is purely feigned for the purpose of gaining political advantage–an accepted tactic in the second-oldest profession. In this culture, such events are deemed far more serious when the consequences are political than when they are religious–except, of course, when the object of the insult is Muhummad (peace be upon him).

@Ward- Having seen the Curb episode in question, the outrage from you Jesus freaks is just as political manufactured and motivated. The only reason that episode should offend you is because it lampoons how easily believers accept ‘miracles’ without bothering to investigate the real causes behind them.

And for the record, I think the outrage is stupid and the bigger story should be that the county executive is stupid enough to compare anyone at all to Hitler on a microphone. There is absolute no way to make a comparison to Hitler as a public figure and not have it result in a shit storm. How any politician doesn’t know that is beyond me.

Let me explain for Hank and Ward, who are apparently unfamiliar with the concept of comedy vs. reality:

Larry David = professional comedian, writer, producer, creator of the most popular sitcom in television history. Not holding any public office nor representing any constituency of any kind at the present moment. Has a funny show on HBO which is a pay channel…..i.e., if you are offended by Larry David pissing (accidentally) on a portrait of Christ, you are free to cancel the channel, or direct your remote away from his Christ-hating show or not turn on your TV so that adults like me and BP can enjoy irreverant humor from a professional.

Chris Collins – County Executive of Erie County, an elected official representing the people of Erie County. Not a professional comedian, doesn’t have a show on pay cable, doesn’t have a clue about humor, apparently. His constituents are, unfortunately, unable to cancel his term in office until the next election.